The present disclosure relates to trailers. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a locking system for a pivoting trailer coupler assembly.
For towing purposes, users of boats will position the boat atop a boat trailer during transport of the boat. The boat trailer typically includes a main, support section that is sized to support the entire boat. Thus, the support section is typically at least as long as the entire length of the boat. A towing or coupler arm typically extends forwardly from the support section such that the towing arm increases the overall length of the trailer. The towing arm can be attached to a towing vehicle using a coupler located at a front tip of the towing arm.
Due to the size requirements of the support section and the towing arm, the boat trailer is usually longer than the boat that it carries. As a result, storing certain sized boats and their trailers in a confined space, such as in the boat owner's garage, can be difficult, if not impossible. This storage constraint often forces some people to buy smaller boats, as they do not have access to storage space that is large enough to contain the large trailer.
On the other hand, many boaters have a near fanatical devotion to their sport and refuse to sacrifice the size of the boat in order to accommodate a small storage space. Consequently, some boaters resort to expensive and time consuming measures in order to store a boat of a desired size. For example, some boaters have been known to enlarge the sizes of their garage spaces in order to create sufficient room to store boats indoors.
Other boaters may purchase specialized boat trailers where the front of the trailer, specifically the front towing arm area, can be adjusted in size to fit within small areas. There currently exist trailers with hinged towing arms that swing out of the way to a stowing position when not in use, so that the towing arm does not increase the overall length of the trailer when the trailer is in storage. Such devices use first and second passageways that are positioned on the sides of a trailer front arm. The passageways are aligned with one or more holes on plates positioned on a rotating towing arm. A rotator pin is then inserted into a first passageway and the holes of the plates such that the rotator pin acts as an axis of rotation to permit the towing arm to be rotated to the stowing position when not in use.
A removable pin is inserted into the second passageway to lock the towing arm in the towing position. The removable pin is removed from the passageway to unlock the towing arm. It can be unwieldy for the user to have to insert and remove the removable pin in order to lock and unlock the towing arm. Moreover, the removable pin can be easily lost when the pin is removed from the passageway. In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved locking systems for pivoting trailer couplers.